On April 28, Beijing time, the NBA playoffs continued. In the just-concluded Western Conference focus battle, the Thunder challenged the Pelicans away, and the two sides lost suspense in only 24 minutes, the Thunder entered the second half with a 14-point lead, and the offensive in the second half was unabated, maintaining the lead in the final 106-85, and the bloodless New Orleans home game went to the next city, and the total score of the series came to 3-0, only one step away from sweeping the semifinals.
In this game, except for Holmgren, who was slightly worse than Holmgren, who scored 6 points and 8 rebounds, the other four all scored double-doubles, and even the bench scored 22 points. On the other hand, the Pelicans also scored double-doubles in four of the starting five, but the four of them only scored 60 points combined, losing to the Thunder foursome by 18 points. Judging from the data, the scoring ability of the two benches is almost the same, and the root cause of the loss is the poor starting ability, or the lack of stars who can compete with Alexander.
In fact, fans who know the Pelicans know that in terms of superstar quality alone, the Pelicans are completely worthy of the Thunder, and they also have the Big Three combination of Zion + Ingram + McCollum. It's just that in this round of the series, Ingram's return to the line of fire felt cold, and Zion even held up the exemption card to act as a spectator on the bench. According to Shams, a member of the American media outlet, Zion's hamstring strain has not fully recovered, and if the Pelicans can survive the first round, then Zion may return at some point. In other words, Zion is now in a state of recuperation after leaving the team.
This also means that the Pelicans need to chase 4 games in a row to upset the Thunder after falling behind 0-3 before Zion may choose to make a comeback. Listen, what is this? The Pelicans, who are fully healthy, don't dare to say that they will eat the Thunder steadily, and now let the remnants of the Pelicans go to let 3 chase 4? It is better to directly say that Zion has been reimbursed for the season, in addition to the G1 Pelicans 2 points lost, G2 lost by 32 points, G3 lost by 21 points, and the three games together lost by 55 points, what do the Pelicans do to fight with the Thunder, I really think that the Thunder is a soft persimmon like the Warriors can be pinched casually.
But on second thought, if Zion hadn't been sidelined, would the Pelicans have a chance to win this series? Where would they have been able to win? First, Zion is averaging 22 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal per game this season, shooting 57 percent from the field. He had 22 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists against the Trail Blazers in the five games before the injury, 31 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists against the Kings, 26 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists against the Warriors, and 52 points, 19 rebounds and 13 assists in the last two games against the Lakers.
In terms of data, Zion's growth this season is obvious to all, looking at the entire West, Zion also deserves the reputation of the first small forward, after all, his visible talent is there, and Zion has begun to consciously lose weight this season, and Zion has become more and more flexible on the court after the weight loss has been successful, which is why he has played 70 regular season games for the first time in his career so far. If Zion is not injured, the Pelicans can break wrists with the Thunder, but now that Zion is not playing, the Pelicans can only admit it, the Thunder really has no opponent this time, and Zion, who said goodbye to the NBA this season, will take the Pelicans to make a comeback next season to achieve revenge.